These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.

Today we continue our series with Robin Rice Lichtig. Robin is no stranger to The Happiest Medium; I’ve had the opportunity to review her work as well as sit on a panel with her last December to discuss the role of women in Off-Off Broadway. But when you’re as prolific a playwright as Ms. Lichtig a few months makes a world of difference so I’m pleased she’s joining us again to give us an update on her work, as well as share with us her experience of what it’s been like to be a woman in her business. I’ll let Robin tell you in her own words:

Robin Rice Lichtig

Things are bursting at the seams these days. Playwrights have a rough row to hoe — rougher even if you’re a woman. I can offer as encouragement these facts: I was fortunate last year with world premieres of full length plays in New York and South Africa, a reading in Berlin, and a number of workshops and reading in New York.

So far, 2011 is jam packed with short play productions and my full-length PLAY NICE! opened last night at 59E59 Theatre in New York. (It runs through March 27) I would like to encourage women playwrights to get their short plays into festivals whenever they can. It was through a ten-minute play presented for only two nights at Abingdon Theatre in New York that the producer of PLAY NICE! found me. Ego Actus is also going to produce FRONTIER in the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in New York in June. At a meeting of the Planet Connections personnel early last Sunday morning, it was exciting to see that about 99 per cent of the people running this large, eco-friendly event are women.

We all know that the percentage of plays written by women is abominably low. Add ageism to that and anyone without fierce drive and focus will quit in a heartbeat. It’s an uphill climb, but it’s not impossible. I suggest joining theInternational Centre for Woman Playwrights and get on their listserve — a very supportive group.

Last Monday the League of Professional Theatre Women had a benefit to raise money for the organization at New World Stages in New York. Not only the writers, but the producers, backstage workers and technical people were women. Over 200 people were in the audience at $50 a ticket. The atmosphere was charged. It was a fabulous evening celebrating successful women in theater. I was also part of a SWAN Day production in Ontario, Canada, last weekend. SWAN Days are taking place all over the country this month, giving shouts out to women in theater. Loads of encouraging new things happening.

Gotta run. Submissions to make, networking to do. Speaking of which, conferences are an excellent way of getting your name out there. Hope to see some of you at Humana the first weekend in April.

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Thanks so much, Robin – we celebrate you today!

A little more about Ms.Lichtig:

Robin Rice Lichtig – See www.dramamama.net for details on upcoming gigs, synopses, and other cool stuff.